PARKERSBURG - More than a month has passed since the death of 20-year-old Jaleayah Davis, and her mother and family want answers.
Kim Davis is frustrated with the lack of information coming from officials concerning the death of her daughter, whose death along Interstate 77 last month has been labeled "suspicious" by officials.
"We are going to push and push and push and push until we get answers," Davis said.
A news release from the Wood County Sheriff's Office Monday stated law enforcement officials were still investigating the incident.
"In addition to the West Virginia Medical Examiners Office, the West Virginia State Police Laboratory and Engineers from KIA USA Corporate Office in Irvine, Calif., are assisting on a range of scientific analyses," the release stated.
However, Davis is frustrated by the lack of communication from the department. She said she has not heard from law enforcement officials for weeks.
Davis said the 38 days since her daughter's death feel much, much longer. And she and her family are frustrated by the wait.
"The cops have had the car for a month. They haven't released anything to us, not her belongings, not her cell phone."
Instead of hearing from law enforcement, Davis and her family are left to their theories, along with the rumors and stories floating around the community.
Davis said she has tried to put many of these rumors to rest.
"You don't want to believe somebody killed your kid," she said.
However, she said too many things lead her to believe Jaleayah's death wasn't an accident.
"I've heard from four different people (that) it was planned."
On the night of her death Jaleayah Davis and her friends had been at a bar in Parkersburg.
According to Kim Davis, her daughter was supposed to stay the night with a friend, a friend she had only met a few months earlier. Sometime early Nov. 19 Jaleayah Davis called her sister three times. Kim Davis said Jaleayah was crying and upset, asking to meet her younger sister. They agreed to meet at the Williamstown rest stop off I-77.
Jaleayah Davis was near Parkersburg, and got on I-77 north at the Emerson Avenue entrance. She never made it to Williamstown.
Jaleayah's sister called her back and when she got no answer, she and a friend went to find her.
They found the crash scene along I-77. Davis' damaged vehicle was found against a guardrail. Jaleayah Davis had been struck by a vehicle and suffered traumatic injuries. Her body was discovered two-tenths of a mile from her vehicle, according to officials.
Kim Davis said the location of her daughter's body and her car make it impossible to believe it was an accident.
"In my mind it was not an accident and I don't see how they will be able to explain it that way. Somebody did something."
"Why didn't she spend the night? Why was she crying and upset? Why did she want to meet her sister? All these things don't make sense. I don't see how they can say it was an accident.
"These things just don't add up."
Law enforcement officials continue to investigate Davis' death.
"The key to any investigation is to perform a quality investigation. I assure the family and the public that the scientific and engineer experts, Wood County Sheriff's Office detectives, deputies and intelligence analysts, and the Wood County Crash Team are working relentlessly to determine if this was an accident or if a crime was committed," Wood County Sheriff Jeff Sandy stated.
Sheriff's department officials are asking anyone with information to contact sheriff's Detective Camille Waldron at 304-424-1834.
"As both a Sheriff and father, I feel the parent's pain and I assure them that we will leave no stone unturned during this investigation," Sandy stated in an email.
"My kids are all I have and I am not going to give up on this," Davis said.
